Lions Amongst the Lambs
by One Black Rose
Summary: Business is always boomin' for the Basterds. But when they find a young girl with no family left except for an older sister that's somewhere in France...they start going on a wild goose chase that'll either make or break the rest of their standards.
1. Chapter 1

It was a beautiful day…to the small German Nazi squad at least. After a raid with the infamous "Jew Hunter" they successfully destroyed a family of 10, with 2 separate people being the ones who were hiding the…rats. Actually, they didn't _completely_ destroy the whole family. One was sitting in the prisoners' car, shaking with fear. Probably due to the fact that a black clothed sack covered her entire head or the fact that she witnessed her family's death. They didn't really care. They just cared that Hans Landa was in a very merciful mood and decided to let her live just a little while longer. One out of the two German soldiers manning the car looked down at their "little Mouse" (a type of mock nickname that Hans Landa gave it). He put a hand on the prisoners' knee, causing the poor, filthy thing to flinch. Then looked at his fellow comrade, smiling.

"Gut da Oberst Hans Landa solch eine großzügige Stimmung war, warum nicht haben wir ein Bit des Spaßes?" (Well, since Colonel Hans Landa was such a generous mood, why don't we have a bit of fun?)

The other soldier looked at him sternly, "Wir reiten durch das Holz. Nicht erinnern Sie sich an die Gerüchte?" (We are riding through the woods. Don't you remember the rumors?)

His friend rolled his eyes and moved his hand up the young prisoner's leg, he leaned down so that his face was next to her neck.

"Gerüchte sind gerade Gerüchte. Nicht ist das nach rechts, kleine _Ratte_?" (Rumors are rumors. Isn't that right, little _rat_?)

She girl didn't know what to say, and before she could even hear the other soldier's reply…it seemed like thousands of gunshots were being fired outside of the car.

"Scheiße! Henrick!" (Shit, Henrick!) The soldier's companion whom he called "Henrick" had absolutely no time to take cover. Thousands of bullets mutilated his chest and neck area. Once he saw his friend dead, the lone Nazi grabbed the girls' leg and pulled her onto the ground with him, causing the girl to hit floor hard and start crying. The Nazi firmly covered her mouth and started beating her.

"Halt die Schnauze! Halt die Schnauze, Sie Stück Mist!" (Shut up! Shut up, you stupid piece of crap!) As soon as the shooting noises stopped, however, he stopped as well, shaking just like the young prisoner did before.

"Wicki, check that there car. Make sure there ain't anybody in it. Boys, claim your scalps from the front over here." A foreign voice echoed outside. It was English, and had a heavy…accent of some sorts. The soldier took Henrick's small pistol, picked up the girl under her arms and ran outside with the pistol pointed at the girl's head.

"Ich bin lebendig! Trieb und sie gehören zu mir!" (I'm alive! Shoot, and she goes with me!) The girl was utterly silent now. She had no idea what to do. With the sack over the head, she couldn't see anything…she could only help but wonder why the mean soldier was scared.

The soldier on the other hand, had every right to be scared. Once his eyes became adjusted to the light and everything stopped moving, he saw _them_ standing all around him. Stern, hateful looks casted down upon him and he knew why. He just didn't care with that part. A rather big and tall man with a small mustache stepped towards him from his right side.

"Speak English?" The soldier shook his head. "Nein." He knew that had to be the "Apache" man. The Apache looked over at car where Wicki was standing and motioned him to come and translate.

"Ask him his name. Then tell him to put the girl down. He puts the girl down an' answers a few questions for us, we'll let 'im go." Wicki nodded and put his full attention to the soldier. Other than the talking, everything else was eerily quiet.

"Was its Ihr Name?" (What's your name?)

"Mein Name ist Alderic." (My name is Alderic)

"Setzen Sie das Mädchen unten." (Put the girl down)

"Warum?" (Why?) Alderic just pressed the barrel of the gun harder against the girls' head.

"Sie setzten sie niederwerfen, beantworten einige Fragen für uns und uns lassen Sie gehen." (You put her down, answer a few questions for us, and we'll let you go.) Alderic grimaced and laughed through clenched teach.

"Nein, nicht ohne dieses Kennzeichen… weiß ich! Ich würde eher sterben, als dieses verdammte Kennzeichen haben Sie-" (No, not without that mark…I know! I'd rather die than have that fucking mark-)

A gunshot filled the tense air, shooting through Alderic's heart and causing him to fall down with the girl still in his arms. Everyone was startled and looked around to see who fired that shot…all except for Rained.

"DAMNIT Stiglitz, what the fuck was that for?" When all of the talking was going on, everyone's attention was on the girl and Alderic. Hugo, already being on the far left side of everyone, took this opportunity to sneak around and give the young Nazi a sneak attack.

"If that fucking girl is down, yer gonna owe me _two hundred_ scalps, you hear me?"

"He wanted to die, not her." Stigiltz replied with a straight face. Aldo hung his head in frustration, and then walked slowly up to the two bodies. He reached out and pulled the sack off of her head. Surprisingly, she _was_ alive. Her eyes were shut tight and (despite her mouth being shut tight as well) were heavily breathing. Her hair was plastered and a bit greasy, but a brown color. Grime, blood, and bruises were covering the rest of her body. She couldn't be no more than 6…7 years old.

"Hey…hey, it's alrigh'. Yer with the Basterds, everything's gonna be okay." The young girl slowed down her breathing, and slowly opened her eyes. She only saw a dark red liquid on the ground, a color she knew too well.

"Ich wünsche meine Mama." (I want my mommy)

"What the…was that _German_?" Donny lifted his eyes in surprise, and even raised his bat a little bit. The girl finally sat up and looked around, then started sobbing.

"Ich-Ich(I wünsche meine Mama." (I-I want my mommy)

Frankly, Aldo didn't know what to do. He looked around at his soldiers, his eyes almost pleading for help. Except what he got were looks of shocked faces and he knew immediately what they all were thinking. What the hell was a young, _German_ girl doing in Nazi-occupied France?

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Well? What do you think? I know that the translation is probably bad, but hey it's a translator, what would you expect? Anyways, please review and you won't get scalped! (Jk, jk, but please review?)


	2. Chapter 2

_Because I forgot to put this in the first chapter, I do NOT own ANY rights to Inglorious Basterds except for my OC's. If I did, I'd make sure I would be making out with Eli Roth in A scene...now on with the story..._

Everyone just stared. That's all they could do. Sitting before the Basterds was a child…a young, German child in France who's apparently a Jew. Why else would the Nazis have her in the prisoners car? And she was crying...something even Aldo didn't know how to control. He looked at Wicki.

"Think you can calm her down?" Wicki gave him a look that seemed to say "you're kidding, right?" but merely shrugged it off and slowly went over to the girl.

"Wo ist Ihre Mutter, kleines?" (Where is your mother, little one?)

"Ich kenne nicht… einmal, das sie mich gegen ihren Kasten anhielt, wie er…" She slightly pointed down (her hands were tightly cuffed) at the young officer, "...dann ihr gestopptes Inneres. Warum?" (I do not know...one time she held me against her chest, like him...then her heart stopped. Why?)

Wicki hung his head and rubbed his eyes, then looked at the Leutenant.

"Her mother is dead. She doesn't know why." The group of men looked at each other in sympathy.

"What're we gonna do, we gonna keep her, sir?" Donny raised his eyes at the Apache.

"Damnit Donowitz, I don't know…we don't even know her name. Speakin' of which…" He looked at the blonde German again, who nodded in return.

"Haben Sie einen Namen?" (What is your name?) The young girl gave a small hiccup.

"D-Delma…" She replied softly.

"Delma? Der ist ein hübscher Name. Was über Nachname?" (Delma? That's a pretty name. What about a last name?) The young girl's sobbing began to cease and she scrunched up her face.

"O…oooooo…Os-t-heim…ya, Ostheim." (Ostheim…yes, Ostheim) Wicki chuckled and the young child's difficulty.

"We have a name. Delma Ostheim."

"Dey-lma, huh?" Aldo stroked his chin, "Is she willing to trust us?"

"Vertrauen Sie uns?" (Will you trust us?) The young girl looked at the group. There were only eight of them, but it always seemed like there were more. To her, the men were giants, especially the one with the mustache. She turned her head to look at him.

"Y-ya." Wicki looked back and nodded.

"Good. Go ahead and get them handcuffs offa her. Check that boys' pockets." Wicki motioned Delma to step away from the body a little bit, and dug around Alderic's pockets, finding a small silver key. He pulled it out and gently unlocked the young girls' hands. She rubbed them together to ease the pain and gave the Basterd a small smile.

"Now she needs to tell us everythin' she can remember 'bout what happened between the time she was with 'er family and now. Think she can do that?" Wicki looked back at the girl and took a breath.

"Können Sie mir sagen, was Ihnen in den letzten Stunden geschah? Es ist zwar schwierig, aber wir benötigen die ganze." (Can you tell me what happened to you in the past few hours? It may be difficult, but we need all the help you can give us) The girls' eyes started brimming with tears and she looked down. Delma wanted to tell the nice man, but she didn't want to remember anything. She had no idea what had happened.

"Wir…das wir uns versteckten. Mutter bat uns, wirkliche Ruhe zu sein. Dann gab es Geräusche. Tiefe Geräusche und dumpfe Schläge. Und… dann…" (We...we were hiding. Mama told us to be real quiet. Then there were noises. Deep noises, and thuds. And...then...) She put one hand on the ground and another to her eyes to rub the tears off her face.

"Alles war rot…" (Everything was red..) Delma began to cry harder, causing most of the men to be uncomfortable, especially Wicki.

"Well…?" Aldo lifted an eyebrow.

"It seems like her family was in hiding. Thus, making her Jewish-"

"Well that's pretty fuckin' obvious, I mean why else would she _not_ be a prisoner in that car?" Aldo shot a look at Donny, causing the Sergeant to shut up.

"As I was _saying_…it sounds like all of her family is dead."

"Hmph, looks like we hafta keep her now…" Donny muttered under his breath.

"Aw, it'll be cute…like having a little sister! We can teach her about guns and everything!" Omar spoke up from behind, causing a few chuckles to be let out. Donny turned around with an appalled face.

"What? I've always wanted one…" The Bear Jew rolled his eyes and turned back to the main scene.

The Lieutenant put a hand to his eyes and rubbed his chin.

"Well…ask her if she knows of anyone she can go to in France. Maybe we can drop 'er off or somethin' like that." (This causing an audible 'aw' from Omar)

"Haben Sie irgendeine Familie überhaupt in Frankreich?" (Do you have any family at all in France?) Delma rubbed her face, smearing the mixture of dirt, tears and boogers on her face. She started shaking her head.

"Kein… jeder war zurück in… Deutschland…" A flashback. As hard as she tried to suppress them, there they were like a small movie. Voices, familiar family voices. Doors opening and closing, small laughter. A kiss on the cheek, light blue dress…white scarf covering her head. Then woodpecker noises…Her mother, father, aunt, uncle, and cousins lying down as still as stone. All of them were there…except…for one.

"Emma…" Delma whispered. Her whole face suddenly light up, and a big smile became plastered onto her face.

"Emma! Meine große Schwester Emma!" The look she gave Wicki made everyone's spirits lift. It was always strange how one child can light up the whole room…or at least small patch of woods for that matter. Wicki turned back to the Apache with a small smile as well.

"She has a big sister." Aldo let out a sigh.

"Great…and let me guess. She don't know where this 'Emma' of hers is, right?"

"Wissen Sie, wo sie ist?" (Do you know where she is?) Delma looked back down again.

"Kein… es tut mir leid." (No…I'm sorry) Wicki looked back and shook his head.

"Well then…" Aldo turned around, thinking. Sure, finding a lost sister will hold them back on the groups Nazis spree…but he can't leave the poor thing all alone now, can he? Plus Delma said "big sister"…and with a full group of men, that might just help for a while (depending on the age of this big sister…of course…). The Apache looked over his shoulder and smiled, then fully turned around and looked out at his men.

"We're playin' detectives now soldiers!" This caused a few cheers and whoops from the group (specially from Omar). Donny stepped to the right side of his boss, "I dunno Lieutenant…how're we gonna keep up with the tyke here?"

"First off, she's too weak ta do anythin' right now. We need to find some type of medical supplies and tidy 'er up a bit. There was a river a few yards back. A bath's what she's needin'." Hugo was at his other and placed a hand on Aldo's shoulder.

"I don't like this. We should be focusing on our work, not spending our time being nanny's." The coldness of the psychopath nearly sent chills down the fearless leader's spine…nearly.

"It won't take anytime at all! Besides it'll be fun!" Omar stepped fpward and squatted down to Delma.

"Hey Delma! My name's Omar Ulmer, but you can call me Omar. Let's get you cleaned up, ok?" Donny stepped in.

"Heya lil' squirt. My name's Donny Donowitz. Can ya say my name? Donnnn-nnyyyyy Donnn-o-wiiiitzz." Delma moved her head side to side like a confused little puppy.

"Do'witch?"

"No…Donnn-o-wiiiiiiitttzzz."

"…Dondon." The poor sergeant hung his head in humiliation. This caused Omar to fall to a knee laughing,

"Dondon…good one Delma! Now say my name! Omar…Oooo-maaar…"

"Nonononono…you know how to say 'aunt' right Delma? 'Aunt'?"

"…au—nte?"

"Aunt?" Donny flashed a smile at her, causing Omar to worry.

"Now say 'Aunt Omar'." The PFC looked horrified.

"No…no c'mon Donny-"

"Aun_t Ma_r!" Omar was now mortified…whereas the Bear Jew never looked so proud.

"Good girl, Delma!" He turned his eyes to the young boy, "Now we're even." Laughter filled the heavy air and Aldo turned his head to Stiglitz.

"Well then soldier? Got anythin' ta say now?"

"I still don't like it." More men started to gather round the young girl, trying to get her to say their names.

"Looks like yer outvoted." Aldo started heading toward the group, barking out orders as usual. Hugo didn't like this, though. The killing he could stand…utterly and fully. Everything that happened within the last few hours, however, just felt out of place. Like they were being lead into a trap. The girl was a disguise…more than a disguise…he held his gun closer. She was a bad memory he never wanted to bring up again…and he just didn't like it…

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Ok…so the ending of this chapter turned out different than what I expected. Sorry for so much monologue and little description though, that's going to change just a bit from now on! Special thanks to those who put this story on "Favorites/Alerts" and to those who reviewed, much appreciated! Anyways, since your eyes have probably reached the end of the author's note by now…review please? ^-^


	3. Chapter 3

"Oh come on Delma, a little bit of water isn't going to hurt you." As the men were walking to the river, Omar willingly held the young girl in his arms. Within a few minutes, she was asleep but upon waking and finding herself staring down at a river, she clung to the young Private's neck like it was the end of the world.

"You see, it isn't so bad…" Omar started to walk in towards the water causing Delma to whimper.

"Okay, okay…I'll back up." Donny put a hand to his face.

"You're never gonna get her to take a bath that way! Look, if she doesn't like baths then ya hafta force her in. Besides, with the way you've been treatin' her, the lil' thing's gonna get spoiled." Donny walked over and took (well, more like yanked) Delma away from Omar and carried her sideways like she was a gun, causing her to cry.

"C'mon you, in ya go!" He swung her (gently) into the river and she landed with a splash. After a couple of minutes, she slowly came up with a frown on her face.

"Onkel Dondon ist mittler!" (Uncle Dondon is mean!) Wicki laughed and explained to the two what she said. Donny rolled his eyes and splashed a bit of water her way.

"Hey, non o' that. Now get cleaned up so we can get outa here."

--

--

Aldo watched the four from afar as he, Hugo, Utivich, and Hirschberg kept eyes opened and discussed plans.

"Hirschberg, gimme that map." Hirschberg dug around in his p ockets for a bit, and then pulled out a map of France. He unfolded it and handed it to his Lieutenant.

"Now, we're outside the Northern part of Paris. The car that was holdin' Delma was also comin' somewhere in that direction. We gotta back track to the road and stop at the nearest town to interrogate. Seems to me, that town will be "Clichy", right 'ere." He pointed his finger at a small town on the map.

"We can't just go waltzing in the town though…suppose someone actually recognizes Delma?" Utivich spoke up. His eyes wandered to the river with concern.

"Well, that's where Wicki and Hugo are gonna come in." Hugo didn't say anything, but the look he gave to his boss was a definite sign of killing.

"You two are the only people who speak more than one language in this goddamn squad. No complainin' soldier." Hugo gave a small huff and looked back down again.

"The rest of us are gonna be outside of the town, as usual. The two should be back 'round dusk."

"We're gonna be back to killin' Nazis in the meantime, sir?" Hirschberg's eyes looked hopeful.

"If any come are way, then yes."

"Then it sounds like a good plan to me." A splash was heard from the river and the men turned to find Donny and Wicki laughing…and Omar dripping wet in the river.

"Delma, come on get out already! Donny help me!"

"Y-you got into that m-mess, now you gotta, g-get out." The Sergeant could barely muster out his sentence from laughing so much. Utivich turned his eyes to Aldo.

"She's been a ball of sunshine now, but what'll happen when we _do_ find her sister. I don't think Omar's going to give her up so easily." The Lieutenant continued to watch the scene for a moment, then looked back his soldiers.

"I don't think all of us will be willing to give 'er up…" Aldo took a small glance at Hugo, who was cleaning his gun, not paying to anything at all, "…_almost_ all of us."

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Probably one of the shortest chapters, but before this I was on the cursed writer's block (and somewhat still is) sooooo ya...review please? Danke!


	4. Chapter 4

It took about a day or so for the Basterds to reach the outskirts of Clichy. As planned, only Hugo and Wicki were standing outside of the town's entrance. The rest (along with Delma) were hiding like always.

"We should have brought the girl." Hugo muttered.

"I know…it would have been wise to bring her in case anything looked familiar, but stupid at the same time."

"Still, where are we suppose to look first?" Wicki gave a glance to the psychopath.

"Stores, bars, and anywhere where something seems out of place I guess."

"That may take a lifetime." Wicki looked forward once more, and started walking.

"Which is why we need to go now."

--

--

Although it was still daylight, Delma was fast asleep in Private Ulmer's arms. Kids, especially girls in general, always looked cute sleeping. The men were also silent, just waiting and watching.

"You think she's ok? I mean, ever since we picked her up…Delma's been a bit calm." Aldo turned to the young soldier and shrugged.

"Guess the lil' thang's tryin' to suppress everthin'. She don't know what's been goin' on and I reckon, she never wants to know." The girl twitched and moved around trying to be comfortable as nightmares were forming in her dreams.

--

--

The two Germans walked up to an old, abandoned house, remembering what had happened during inquiry.

"_Ostheim ? J'ai su d'une jeune dame par ce nom. Emma Ostheim, très beau." (Ostheim? I knew of a young lady by that name. Emma Ostheim, very beautiful.) The bartender at a local bar called "Le Toile" answered while pouring drinks for other customers. _

"_A-t-elle fait a-t-elle eu une autre famille?" (Did she have any other family?) Wicki pressed on, taking a sip of scotch. _

"_Mmmm…Elle était toujours avec le garçon Louie Archibald. Les parents étaient allemands, mais il était Français né." (she was always with a boy Louie Archibald. The parents were German, but he was French born.)_

"_Étaient?" (Were?) Hugo questioned this time, coldly staring at the Frenchman after a sip of his on scotch. The bartender shifted his eyes nervously, grabbed some glasses to clean and then leaned forward._

"_Apparemment, l'Archibald cachaient des juifs. Plus de cinq d'entre eux. Je ne sais pas leurs noms, mais je sais que Louie et Emma n'étaient pas là au moment du tir." (Apparently the Archibald's were hiding Jews. More than five of them. I don't know their names, but I do know that Louie and Emma weren't there at the time of the shooting.) He leaned back and went back to serving a few drinks to customers at the end of the bar. Wicki felt his stomach dropped and he looked at his comrade, who was staring and his liquor for the longest time. Hugo picked up his glass and drained the rest in a few gulps._

"_Savez-vous où l'Archibald de phase?" (Do you know where the Archibald's live?) Hugo asked quietly as the bartender came back to their area. The man gave the two soldiers a suspicious look._

"_Non… mais demandez autour. Je suis sûr que quelques personnes les ont sus." (No...but ask around. I'm sure a few people knew them) The two customers nodded their heads in a small thanks, paid for their drinks and left. _

And with a few more sources that they gathered, it led them to the Archibald house.

"We should do this quick, just in case we don't look suspicious." Wicki said, not even bothering to look at Stiglitz. He on the other hand, nodded in response and went in first. As soon as the door was opened, the scent of death filled the air. It was quiet all around except for the soft footsteps that were made by the soldiers. In the main entrance room, there was a table with chairs that were knocked over. A couple of cabinets that lined the right wall had cracked windows and chipped kitchenware. A hallway on the left lead to stairs going up to the second floor and a small study that was still on the first floor.

"I'll check the upstairs, you check around here and the basement assuming that there is one." Wilhelm began ascending up the staircase, leaving Hugo alone. The psychopath went straight and turned to the study. It was painted half way and up a pale green when there were spots that weren't covered by a bookcase. A light, wooden desk was in the middle of the room with a black leather and wooden chair. He walked over to it and ran a hand over the surface. There were no pictures on top, but he checked the drawers just in case. As he opened the drawers one by one, there was very little or useless items in each of them…except one. The middle drawer on the left was locked. No matter how much Hugo jiggled it, it wouldn't open. He proceeded to get his pistol gun and gave the lock a couple of shots. It opened like a charm. Upon opening it, it was filled to the brim with papers and not just bills. Memorbila, pictures, and a small leather bound journal. He put everything from that drawer on the service, sorting the pictures out from the papers. While going through several pictures, Stiglitz noticed a name written in cursive on the back…"Ostheim". He flipped it over and was surprised at what he saw. There was a father holding his wife in one arm and placing a hand with the other arm on a young boy at least 13 years old. Next to the boy was a young girl at least 16, facing more towards her mother and he saw why. In the mother's arms was a baby. _Delma_, Hugo thought. He carefully placed that picture off to the side and he rummaged through the pictures a bit more. Stiglitz came across another picture, one whose back read "Louie and Emma". It was a picture of a boy, no more than 24 and a girl that was around the same age. Hugo leaned back with a sigh and examined the two pictures together. The bartender was right…Emma _was_ beautiful, but pictures could only tell so much. Yet with these, hopefully they can tell a lot more than he thinks. Footsteps were heard coming from the staircase, and Hugo immediately got up and started to put everything back except for the two pictures. When he got to the journal, however, the soldier was hesitant. If it was kept in a locked drawer, then perhaps it was holding some type of secret? Hugo closed the drawer, and safely tucked the journal into his uniform, just in case.

"Did you find anything?" Wicki spoke up through the walls. Hugo stepped out of the study and nodded at him, holding up the two pictures causing the other Germans' eyes to widen.

"This is…her family?" Hugo nodded.

"What did you find?" Wicki shrugged.

"Nothing much. Everything looked alright when I went up there, but Rain would be pleased to know that there's pictures." Hugo nodded once again. A small awkward silence filled the space between them.

"Well, if that's it, then we'd better get some more supplies. I think the boss also wanted some new clothes for Delma." Hugo gave yet another nod and headed towards the door. Wicki smiled and shook his head, hoping the others were having a bit more fun than they were.

--

--

_She was caught. There was absolutely no place to go, no one to go to. Puppets were swaying all around her, dark red paint was dripping from the puppets. What was even worse, was that the faces sowed onto the puppets…were her family. Her father, mother, brother, aunts and uncles and cousins were just hanging by the neck with thread. Loud noises sounded through the air and a man in a Nazis uniform with many medals stood behind the puppets like a giant. His eyes glowed bright red and his teeth became a pointy grin. He pointed a gun at her and slowly said, "Auf Wiedersehen, kleine Ratte." And then, he pulled the trigger…_

Delma bolted from her once comfortable sleeping position in Aunt Mar's arms and looked around, terrified.

"Delma…what's wrong?" Omar looked at her, concerned. She didn't answer though…she just kept looking around, her eyes swelling up with tears. Then, her eyes landed on Aldo. She stared at him, and he stared back…a bit worried. They've never really exchanged words, nor has she ever really said his name often, but Delma finally knew what to call the big leader.

"Papa…" She whimpered quietly, the tears fell fast across her cheeks.

"Wh-what did she say?" The Lieutenant nearly fell over in shock whereas the Private looked crestfallen. Everyone else just stood still, not wanting to say anything. Delma held out her arms at Raine and cried harder.

"Ich wünsche Papa!" (I want Papa!) The leader didn't know what to do…even though she was holding out her hands to him, he wouldn't have minded holding her for a bit, but with the title of "Father"? Well, he just looked around…with only one question in his mind. Where the fuck were Wicki and Stiglitz?

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Wow, isn't it amazing on how a good chapter can come up after writing a not so good chapter? I think I'm finally off of writers block!...for now at least...anyways, review por favor? Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5

When Wilhem and Hugo returned to the campsite before sunset, the two found everything in a weird…sulking setting. Omar was up a ways taking watch, but looked more like he was in a bad mood. Utivitch and Donny were with him trying to cheer him up, yet cuss words were strung whenever the Sergeant tried to talk. What was even more surprising was seeing a sleeping Delma…in _Raines'_ arms. The Germans' eyes stared into their Lieutenants' eyes for an explanation.

"…she called me Papa." A cold silence filled the air. Wicki raised his eyebrows and tried to suppress a laugh.

"No wonder Omar's in a foul mood."

"Well, he started cussin' out. I _had_ to move 'im to a dif'rent location. But _besides_ this…did you find anything?" Wicki shrugged.

"Hugo found a couple of pictures. One is of her family, the other is of her older sister and friend, I'm guessing." Hugo took the pictures out of his pocket and gave them to Aldo. Upon looking at the family picture, the leader felt his heart drop and he held a tighter grip on Delma. He understood why she called him 'Papa' in the first place. Minus the mustache and muscular aspect…Mr. Ostheim had the same type of good looks the Apache had, _And no doubt he __**was**__ the father of the household…_he sighed and went to the other picture. His eyes widened and he had to put the two pictures side by side for comparison again. He looked up at Hugo.

"Is this…?" The psychopath nodded. Raine looked back down at the older picture of the sister. True it wasn't colored, but it still told more than a thousand words. It showed a girl in a light colored dress, possibly white. Conservative, but not long sleeved and a black shawl covered her arms. She was also in small black loafers with white socks. Her face was expressionless, but fair and strands of dark hair and bangs somewhat circled her face while the rest was in a low ponytail.

"There's certainly a resemblance." He muttered. Aldo sighed and leaned back against a tree, taking a small glance at the man next to her.

"Who's this?"

"That is Louie Archibald. The only son of the Archibald family who were hiding the Ostheims." The leader raised an eyebrow and situated Delma so _he _can be comfortable.

"Only son? What happened to 'im?" The two exchanged glances.

"Apparently, Emma and Louie were not around during the time of the shooting. Nobody really knows why, but despite she was always around him some never even expected she was Jewish. People just thought they were engaged to each other."

"Are they?"

"No, or at least, they were just rumors."

"Any clue as ta where the two are now?" Despite Hugo's poker face, the journal he had hiding inside of his coat felt exposed.

"No, no one knew." The leader let out a sigh of frustration.

"Well, ain't that perfect. How the…" He looked at Delma and lowered his voice a bit, "_fuck_ are we goin' ta find them now?" Wilhelm shrugged, "Search for any houses near the area and see who's there and know anything?" Aldo shook his head.

"Well…you two gathered as much information as ya could today. Rest up men. Ya got them supplies I asked for?" Wicki nodded and handed him a medium sized package.

"Thanks Wicki. Hugo, go take watch over there a ways from Ulmer. Sounds like he's calmed down a bit, but I wouldn't take chances." Hugo nodded, secretly relieved that he could be alone for just a minute. The German began walking and looked over to his left. The Private met Hugo's eyes and rolled them a little after going back to staring at nothing. He wanted to strangle the boy for that action or at least knock him on the side of his head, but let it pass and propped up behind a tree, making sure that the Lieutenant could at _least_ see the end of his gun. Hugo fumbled a bit under his uniform and pulled out the leather-bounded journal and turned to the first page he laid his eyes on.

--

--

_*September 12, 1931_

_It's strange how memories can creep up on you when you least expect them. The memory of when I first met Joseph Ostheim was, in a sense, a typical Jewish-Gentile situation. It seemed like centuries ago, in the 1900s. I was only fourteen at the time when a group of boys were all around in a circle in a large fenced area that was used as storage space for carriage repairs. The chanting of "Fight! Fight! Fight!" Hung tightly in the air and I rushed to see what was going on. There was a boy with brown hair and an already bloody nose on the ground and I instantly recognized his competitor as being Leopold, a well-known bully who belonged to the butcher's son. _

"_Get up you half-dick or are ya too wimpy?" He charged towards the Jew again, landing on top of him this time. The boys began to roll around, hitting each other (and on the Jew-boys' part defending) a lot more. A whistle shrieked from behind me and I could barely hear it until I turned around. I saw an officer about a mile away, running towards us to stop whatever was going on. I quickly rushed into the circle and pulled Leopold off the guy with as much strength as I could get._

"_What the fuck Sven? You trying to help Schnozzle? He a friend of yours, huh? HUH?" He gave me a few pushes. It took all that had not to hit him. _

"_NO you idiot, look!" I pointed out of the gates. The police man was only forty yards away._

"_SHIT! Run! Everybody run!" The group scattered like flies, confusing the chubby navy coat. Leopold turned around with fire in his eyes and pointed at the Jew who was slowly getting up._

"_I'll get you later, you kike!" That was it. I never really was much of a fighter, nor did I really give a damn about doing anything back when I was that age, but after Leopold said that word…something just snapped. I pushed my fist against his nose and eye and then snapped it back to my side. _

"_SVEN! You…you…" Leopold was too much in shock to say anything, giving me the perfect opportunity to pick up the boy and run. Once we got past him, the bully snapped out of it and tried to reach for me, but the officer pulled him up by his collar and began to take him to the station. The Jew-boy and I ran into an alleyway four blocks from the repair shop. We fell to the ground, panting heavily. After calming down, I turned to him._

"_So…is-is your name really Schnozzle?" He looked at me like I was the biggest idiot in the world._

"_No, my name is Joseph." He looked away and searched for any bruises and cuts._

"_Ooooh, father of the virgin! So, were you making eyes at one of Leopold's virgins or was he lookin' at one of yours? Jealous factor, huh?" I nudged him in a playful mood. Joseph hung his head and rubbed his forehead._

"_No again, he was in a bad mood and decided to use me as a punching bag today." _

"_Ah…" I nodded and everything went into a state of awkwardness. _

"_So…" Joseph started, but shut his mouth. I raised an eyebrow._

"_So…?" He started at me._

"_Why did you save me?" I thought for a moment. Sure, I was probably the only one who saw the police man, yet I was the one who only did something in the first place. My parents keep telling me to be nice to others, but I was the type of kid who just floated in the background. No one bothered me, I didn't bother them. In fact, nobody really never knew me. At that moment, I let everything slide and turned to Joseph, grinning. _

"_Guess you can just call me a 'Good Samaritan'". He smiled back and placed a hand on my shoulder. _

"_A Gezunt Dir in Pupik." My eyes shifted around nervously._

"_Um…bless you?" He laughed._

"_It's a blessing." He stood up and dusted himself off, "I'd better get home. Dinner should be soon and my mom is strict about getting the family together for the prayer." He began to walk out of the alley. I quickly stood up and ran after him a bit._

"_Hey…hey! And what are you going to say to your folks? If your mom is anything like mine, she'd be scared stiff or throw a hissy fit and ground you. Why don't you come to my place and get cleaned up?" He stopped, turned and faced me...amazed. _

"_Really? You mean it?" I flashed a smile, "Yes, of course!" He grinned right back._

"_You know Sven…you're alright." We walked back to my house, talking about sports, books and all. We became best friends after that…….it felt like it was ages since then. Joseph stayed in Germany, but I fear not for long. Apparently there had been rumors about new changes, a new political power, and the way he writes it, the rumors aren't good. My son, Louie, has already been talking about going into the army as a detective. This worries me as well. He certainly hasn't been as kind as I was towards other religions, races, and what-not when he was growing up. I partially blame that on my brother and father. Yet if darling Emma wasn't Jewish, our families would have definitely been conjoined by now. The two have always been nice towards each other, and everyone always said they'd make a "fine couple". Alas, Louie turns his nose up at her Jewish heritage. THAT worries me too. Goodness, it seems as if everything has been worrying me…and I'm not even that old. "Oy vey!" As Joseph would say…_

--

--

"Hey Stiglitz, what's that?" Donny came up behind the German like a snake, causing the man to be slightly surprised.

"A lil' light readin'? A book wasn't on Lieutenant's shopping list now, was it soldier?" He propped an elbow against a tree. Hugo gave Donowitz a look that could kill, but with his title being the 'Bear Jew' he doubt it even worked.

"If you must know, it's a journal. Sven _Archibald's _journal to be exact, the German friend who was hiding Delma's family." Donny's eyes grew wide.

"Oh-ho, now we startin' to care about the lil' gal aren't we?"

"_No_. This might help us _find her sister_. She's not a little pet that we can keep." Donny snorted and crossed his arms.

"Try tellin' that to the nanny." Now it was Hugo's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"I thought he was an 'Aunt'." The Sergeant shrugged.

"I think we're demoting his position. He didn't even take 'Mommy'." Hugo shook his head and began to flip a page in the small book, causing Donny to lean in.

"So, who killed who?" The German gave him another death glare and showed him the pages.

"Aw German? Fuck-a-duck…no wonder you wanted to keep things quiet. You're still gonna have to tell Lieutenant." Hugo rolled his eyes.

"You don't think I know that?" Donny threw his hands up in defeat.

"Alright, alright, I'm gone. Be listening out for orders though, I think we're heading out soon."

"Understood." The German muttered as his fellow soldier walked away

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A/N: The journal is in German since it was written by Mr. Archibald. A * will indicate when it's time for the journal to tell a story (yay!). If I'm making any Basterd characters OOC, please tell me! I don't want anything mess up the precious balance between the group! Review? ^-^


	6. Chapter 6

"Liebe Emma, haben wir Gäste vorbei wieder. Ich erwarte Sie, das Abendessen zur Verfügung zu stellen. Nach dem können Sie gehen." (Emma dear, we are having guests over again. I expect you to provide the dinner. After that, you can leave.) A young man with brown hair slicked back with gel and bright blue eyes sat at a table with a cigar in his mouth and a newspaper in his hand. It wasn't a very big house the two young people were in, but it was doable. A girl with brown, wavy hair and bangs turned her cold hazel eyes to him with a frown upon her lips.

"Sie erwarten mich, für Ihre Freunde… Nazifreunde zu kochen? Was ist mit Ihnen, Louie falsch?" (You expect me to cook for your friends...Nazis friends? What is wrong with you, Louie?) Louie lifted his eyes at the distressed girl. It's been over a week since her family's death and she _still_ hasn't gotten over it. Then again, she was a Jew…an "enemy" to the government. Of course, her secret wasn't revealed to his army friends…and Jr. Detective Archibald had many. Why, even the infamous Hans Landa was a "friend" of his, but Louie only made sure the Colonel came home when Emma was away in the town. The Jew Hunter was too good to be true, and it would just be too risky for the young man to loose his toy. Louie took out his cigar and gave a puff before standing up and walking over to the young beauty.

"Emma,…, das ich kenne, dass Sie noch… gestört werden, aber es noch einige Sachen gibt Sie tun können, dass ich nicht kann. Bitte?" (Emma...I know you are still upset...but there are still some things you can do that I can not. Please?) He walked around to her back and gently placed his hands on his smooth white skin. Emma flinched and quickly moved away from his touch. Facing him, she held out a hand.

"Fein. Geben Sie mir das Geld. Ist Rindfleisch Burgunder gut?" (Fine. Give me the money. Is beef burgundy alright?) Louie let out a small frusterated sigh and jammed his hand into his front pockets.

"Ja _fein_. Seien Sie einfach zurück in einer Stunde." (Yes, fine. Just be back in an hour) The ignorant girl grabbed a shawl and bag, then headed out to the town of Levallois-Perret. It was a town about half a day's away from Clichy. It was quaint. Nothing too much happened, except that it was a small "getaway" for Nazis soldiers before going through Clichy and out into the world beyond. Louie pounded his fist on the counter as the door in front slammed shut. Emma was beautiful, young…a virgin. Her parents taught the girl too well to follow the old traditional Jewish ways, thus making her pretty much untouchable. Louie had to get rid of her parents right? Honestly, he could not care less about his _own_ parents. Mr. Archibald had become too soft and Mrs. Archibald just plain smothered the young man. He just wanted the pretty young thing for himself. No strings attached. Is that too much to ask?

--

--

After Delma woke up, she was handed from her Papa to her Aunt for a change of clothes. It was a refreshing feeling to her from getting out of a dirty, plain dress and into a long sleeved white shirt and a woolen, green and black plaid jumper dress. She hated shoes, and Omar quickly found that out when he put one on he ended up seeing it gone after he put the other one on. After fifteen minutes of that trick, Donny came over and gave her a good lesson as to why she should have shoes…the girl didn't complain after that. Everyone was then circled up around Raine for orders.

"Alright men…" He paused and looked at Delma, who was clutching Omar's leg…"and lil' lady…there's been a couple of trucks that's been headin' in and out of of Clichy lately. All Nat-zi related, of course." This aroused excitement in the mens' eyes.

"Yup, that's right. We're gonna find out exactly where these trucks are going to and get a lil' killin' on the side." This earned some small cheers from the group. Delma went along with the group and all the men chuckled. Donny looked down and ruffled her hair.

"What, you wanna learn a thing or two 'bout bashin'? Just ask Uncle Donny and I can give ya baseball lessons." Delma looked back at him with wide eyes, confused.

"Bashboll?" Donny hung his head and shook in disappointment.

"Hey nanny, when're ya gonna teach the tyke some English?" Omar glared back at the Bear Jew.

"Never if you keep that up." The two began to quarrel again, and Raine began to step forward for intervention. Delma took notice of this and ran to him with open arms.

"Papa! Halten mich-" (Papa, hold m-) The Lieutenant held out a hand, signaling her to stop. Ulmer and Donny stopped for a moment to see what would happen.

"Now listen Delma. If yer gonna be in this squad _and_ call me 'Papa'…yer gonna hafta learn English." Delma moved her head to the side, confused as usual. Her eyes suddenly lit up as she turned to Wicki.

"Onkel Wicki, was-" (Uncle Wicki, what-)

"No Delma." Raine said with a firm voice, causing her to quickly shut her mouth. She then turned hopeful eyes to Hugo who wasn't paying her any attention at all (of course). Then, she tried giving her "Papa" the best, sad eyes she could possibly give. The leader cringed at what he saw, but he wasn't about to give in so quickly.

"No Delma, what do you want? C'mon…" Delma gave a frustrated sigh and held out her hands to him. The man smiled.

"You want me to carry you?" Despite the young girl still really had no idea what he was talking about, she just nodded. Aldo grabbed her waist with his hands and brought the young thing to his chest, fully standing up in the process. He glanced at his men and barked out a couple of orders.

"Hirschberg an' Utivich? You two are in charge of teachin' the main English stuff to Delma. Donowitz, you are to stay _away_ from the two when they are teachin' the girl English." Donny scrunched up his face and started heading toward his leader.

"Aw why not? You afraid I'm gonna say something wrong in front o' her?" Raine gave him a warning look…Donny paid no head.

"Hey Delma…say 'bitch'." Delma turned around to him.

"Bix?"

"No, Bi-"

"CUT IT OUT DONNY!" Omar was up next to him and hit him on the side of the head.

"Oh, sorry _Auntie_ it's not like _we_ say that word all of the time."

"But you're not _suppose_ to say _that _to a young gi-"

"BITCH!" Everyone came to a hault. Raine didn't know whether to scold Donny or Delma, Omar looked like he might cry, the Bear Jew once again never looked so proud, and the rest were trying to stifle laughter. Delma was smiling and looking at Raine for a compliment. The leader looked at her with sad eyes and shook his head a bit.

"Delma…do _not_ say that word again. _Ever_." She frowned.

"Was-"

"No Delma…no…" He handed her over to Omar who made sure she was far away from Donny as possible. Hopefully…they can find her sister soon.

--

--

Louie sat down at the table with a cigar in his mouth and a newspaper in his hand. Emma had returned home twenty minutes earlier and was now (frantically) preparing dinner for the guest. She never knew who it was going to be. If Louie stated a number, then she'd make sure she'd cook for that many, but a number was never said. A few knocks were suddenly heard at the door. Emma stopped and looked at Louie with concerned eyes. He stared back with no emothion.

"Seien Sie nicht, beantworten die Tür schüchtern." (Do not be shy, answer the door.) The woman nodded and swiftly made her way to the door. She opened it, and her eyes widened with fear. A man in the SS uniform, black hair and black eyes beamed at her, took her hand and kissed it.

"Ah, Fraulein. Archie ist ist er nicht Haupt?" (Ah, Fraulein. Archie is home, is he not?) She nodded and responded in a quiet, yet audible voice.

"Ja kommen Sie bitte herein…" (Yes, please come in)The captain came in smiling, and gave his hat to her. He and Louie began laughing and talking loudly. Emma stood still at the door; everything began slowing down. Alois Brunner had just entered the house…and Emma Ostheim felt like she entered hell.

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A/N: YES!! I'm finally officially introducing Emma! Hope everything was ok and not too ooc or confusing or whatnot, if it was just critique me and I'll brush it up! If you don't know who Alois Brunner is then here's an fyi moment! Alois Brunner was the "best man" of Adolf Eichmann, Minister of Food in the Nazis party, AND sent 140,000 plus Jews to the gas chambers. He usually camped outside of Paris, so I thought this was a good character to have in the story. (apparently he was still alive in 2003-damn bastard-BUT...this story can make that lil fact disappear ^-^!) Btw, if you haven't figured it out, Donny and Omar are the "fighting married couple" of the group (lol). Review, please?


	7. Chapter 7

"Archie, mein Junge kann ich Ihnen genug nicht für das Erlauben mir danken, unter Ihrem Haus heute Abend zu bleiben." (Archie, my boy I cannot thank you enough for allowing me to stay under your house tonight.) Herr Brunner laughed under Archibald's house. His eyes turned to Emma, who was fixing the Beef Burgundy as quickly as possible.

"Madame, eine andere Runde von schottischem bitte! Und ich muss sagen, dass Teller positiv köstlich riecht." (Madame, another round of scotch please! And I must say that dish smells positively delicious.) Emma paused for a brief moment, then grasped her hands firmly around the bottle, trying not to shake. Her eyes were downcast as she made her way over to Mr. Alois Brunner. She poured the drink and, without thinking, glanced her eyes up at the Captain. His eyes met hers and a grin pursued his lips.

"Danke, mein liebes." (Thank you, my dear.) He pressed the glass against his lips and chugged down a big gulp. Brunner then raised his glass.

"Zu einem wunderbaren Freund und zum Krieg! Heil Hitler!" (To a wonderful friend, and war! Heil Hitler!) Louie raised his glass and followed suit.

"Heil Hitler!" The room went quiet, and the Captain turned over in his chair to face Emma. Her face felt hot as she quickly repeated the forbidden phrase, then went back to preparing the dish. Brunner raised an eyebrow, shrugged it off and then turned back to his friend.

"Jetzt Louie, nehmen nicht meinen Besuch so leicht. Ich bin auch hier auf Geschäft. Die deutsche Armee benötigt Ihre Fähigkeiten." (Now Louie, don't take my visit so lightly. I am also here on business. The German army needs your skills once again.)

"Oh?" The detective leaned forward and raised an eyebrow. Bowls of steaming hot soup were firmly placed before him. Concerning eyes looked at the landlord.

"Aber vor Diskussion, haben Sie bitte einen Versuch." (But before discussion, please have a try.) The Captain gave a shrug, then picked up his spoon and scooped up some beef, broth and vegetables. The concoction made its way to his lips and with a gulp, into his stomach. He smiled and lifted his spoon.

"Perfekt. Er wärmt die Haut dieser Nazis!" (Perfect. It warms this Nazi's skin!) Emma stifled a laugh at the irony of his statement. Louie gave her a warning look, to which she quickly went back to the kitchen area and began putting things away. After a couple more bites, Brunner leaned in, whispering, "

"Obwohl, was ich behandeln muss, in privatem besser gestellt seien Sie." (Though, what I have to discuss would be better off in private.) Louie nodded and turned his attention to Emma.

"Clotilda, haben Sie genug für heute Abend getan. Sie können jetzt gehen." (Clotilda, you have done enough for tonight. You may leave now.) Emma stopped at the sound of her alias name, turned around and gave a small curtsy.

"Danke, Louie." (Thank you, Louie.) Emma washed her hands, grabbed her purse and a scarf, then quickly left the door. Brunner took notice of her backside as she left and smirked.

"Clotilda, huh? Sie ist eine sehr schöne Dame. Ich nehme nicht an, dass Sie sie für… Miete haben?" (Clotilda, huh? She is a very beautiful lady. I do not suppose you have her for...rent?) Louie's eyes turned dark.

"Das kann für einen anderen Stoff jetzt behandelt werden…, was ist dieses wichtige Geschäft?" (That can be discussed for another matter...now, what is this important business?) Herr Brunner shrugged and took another sip of scotch.

"Kürzlich hat es Überfälle von einer amerikanischen Widerstandgruppe um Paris gegeben. Sie nennen sich… die unrühmlichen bastard." (Lately, there have been raids from an American resistance group around Paris. They call themselves...the Inglorious Bastards.) Louie snorted and also took his own snip of liquor.

"Ich habe von sie… die… Sohn von Weibchen… alle Juden nach rechts gehört?" (I've heard of them...those...son of a bitches...all Jews right?) Brunner nodded.

"Ja… aber nicht alle sind Söhne - von - Weibchen. Wort hat ihn… diesen sie sind im Besitz eines tatsächlichen Weibchens."(Yes...but not all are sons of bitches. Word has it...that they are in possesion of an actual bitch.) Louie nearly felt the warm liquor turn cold and come up his throat.

"Ernsthaft? Ein Mädchen…, das ist, wie niedrig die bastard gehen würden?" (Seriously? A girl...that is how low the bastards would go?)

"Und nicht gerade ein Mädchen… ein Kind." (And not just a girl...a child.) Right then and there, Louie felt not just the scotch come up his throat. Brunner took notice of the young detective's reaction. He leaned back and sighed.

"Sie wurden um die Stadt von Clichy gesehen. Wenn mein Speicher mich richtig dient, blieben Sie dort für eine Weile… ja?" (They were seen around the town of Clichy. If my memory serves me correctly, you stayed there for a while...yes?) Louie's distressed faced suddenly turned into a glare.

"Ich glaube, dass ich annehme, die Hauptfragen zu stellen bin. Fall genommen." (I believe I am supposed to be asking the main questions. Case taken.) Brunner's suspicios eyes turned bright and a smile formed on the Captain's face.

"Fabelhaft! Lassen Sie uns dann erhalten dieses Thema hinter uns, wie?" (Fabulous! Then let us get this subject behind us, eh?) There was more laughter and lighter talk from there on out. Alois talked about accomplishments of other Nazis soldiers, generals, and whatnot. Louie made sure to follow, but plans were forming in his mind. If the Basterds had a child in their possession while being right outside of Clichy…could it be possible? He had that thought quickly out of his head. No, Landa destroyed the family completely didn't he? Emma _had_ to stay in town for the next few days now. Just for security purposess

* * *

A/N: Well, it's another short-ish chapter, but I hoped you all liked it! Special thanks to **TheInvincibleKay**, **TwilightRocks **for all of your reviews! Also another big thanks to the ever so amazing **birdofshade **for all of the help she's been giving me (plus, her stories are amazing!) Chapter 8 should be coming soon!


	8. Chapter 8

_It was another nightmare. Ropes were being cut left and right. Bodies were falling down, screaming. Delma was standing in the middle of all of this. A rope was around her waist, tight. She could see a sharp axe wearing the same dark red paint that she always saw. There were only hands attached to the axe that had black leather gloves on. They lifted the axe up, the rope was being pulled tight like someone was at the end of the line. Then, just as soon as the axe was about to come down on her, she was pulled down by the rope. The axe was lifted once again, its mark now was the rope around her waist. She felt tugs from the end of the rope, got up, and began to run. The tugs were beginning to be weaker, and in the dark distance…she could see a figure. Swishes of the axe were heard, and Delma kept on running till she saw…her sister. Emma was facing her, wearing the same clothes when she disappeared. Though something was different…the end of the rope was in her hands, both arms were stretched out as if to give the little sister a hug, her eyes…were lifeless. _

"_Delma…" It was her sister's voice, but it wasn't. Delma didn't care. The axe felt closer than ever, so she paid no head to her conscious and ran into her sister. Emma hugged her tightly._

"_Wir werden nie getrennt wieder…" (We will never be seperated again...) Then…a thump was heard. Emma fell to the ground on her knees, yet still hugging her sister. Delma looked up and her eyes widened in fear. The axe swung between Emma's neck and shoulder. Blood began dripping over her right side. _

"_Nie…" (Never…) Her head slowly began to pull away from her body. Delma hugged her sister tighter._

"_Emma...!" As she gave the body a squeeze, the head rolled onto the floor. The young girl began to scream, "EMMA!" _

--

--

Delma opened her eyes as quickly as possible and shifted around. She was in Hirschberg's arms this time, who taught her a bit of English before the nap. The young girl yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"Uncle, wh_er_e we g_o_?" Hirschberg looked down and smiled.

"It's not 'where we go' it's 'where are we going'…can ya say that Delma?" Her lips turned into a pout as she tried to repeat after her teacher.

"Where…_a_rhe we go?" The PFC sighed. It was a small start.

"We're gonna find your sister. Wouldn't you like that?" There wasn't any answer, causing Hirschberg to worry. Delma then grabbed on to him tighter.

"Ei stay…" He nearly stopped and looked down at the youngster with concern. Delma didn't take any notice of this, and scrambled to look over her carrier's shoulder. Aunt Omar was following closely behind. A blank look was on his face, but as soon as the two's eyes met, she smiled…causing the motherly figure to bright up a bight. Then there was Utivich who was walking alongside of Omar. Uncle Hugo was a few more feet behind him, but for some reason…she just can't get herself to really call him "Uncle". She couldn't really get herself to call the big German man anything.

"Alright men. We're stoppin' 'ere for a bit." Aldo yelled out from the front. Each man there began to stop and pick out a spot for resting. Hugo just kept walking past Hirschberg and the girl towards his leader.

"I don't see why we can't just keep on going. The child has gotten more rest than all of us combined." Aldo looked at the German with strict eyes.

"It ain't about the girl in _general_. _We_ need ta get some rest. If yer so opposed to this, then you an Wicki can go scout the area." Stiglitz pursed his lips, but nodded anyways and quickly went to join his fellow comrade. As soon as he and Wicki were out a ways, Delma struggled in Hirschberg's arms, wanting to get down. As the young man set her down, she quickly rushed to the Lieutenant.

"Papa…" She reached his legs and started tugging at his pants. Raine looked down with a questioning eyebrow.

"Pway." He gave a smale smile and rubbed his forehead a bit. So far, the child's English vocabulary has extended, but grammar and enunciation still needed to be worked on.

"Delma, I'm a bit busy right now…maybe someone else can p_l_ay with you?" Delma frowned, but Donny stepped forward smiling.

"Hey, I still got a baseball. Maybe she'd like ta play catch?"

"She's not a boy, Donnowitz…" The Sergeant shrugged.

"Tyke wants ta play. It's the only other thing we've got besides grenades, knives, guns…" The Lieutenant threw his hands up in frustration.

"Fine, but Omar goes with ya. _No_ teachin' of _any_ bad language _whatsoever_, you hear me soldier?" Donny slightly rolled his eyes.

"Yessir…understood…c'mon Dell, let's play!" The Bear Jew picked her up and tossed her in the air a bit, making her giggle. Raine turned to Omar and motioned with his head to follow them. As soon as the three were out of earshot, the leader sighed and sat down. He took out his snuffbox, and gave a few snorts of the weed he missed the past two days.

"Utivich!" Footsteps came in his direction.

"Yes sir?"

"When're you gonna teach 'er proper English?" Smithson was slightly taken aback.

"Well…Hirschberg and I are teaching her small stuff…"

"I know, I know…" Aldo muttered, and looked in his soldier's eyes, "How gar are we to the next town?" Smithson blinked and glanced to his left.

"I believe we have 5 for miles or so to go." Raine nodded his head in agreement and fell into thought., hoping that Wicki and Hugo would find anything in these thick woods.

--

--

Stiglitz and Wilhelm walked side by side in silence. Eyes were moving back and forth, guns were in their hands ready for anything. Then, Hugo stopped.

"What did you see?" Hugo nodded forward and his companion turned his eyes that way. There was a house, not more than fifty yards away from them…maybe even closer. It wasn't elaborate or decorated. The house was somewhat small, colored lightly in a blue that seemed to be fading from what they could tell. The two men looked at each other.

"Perhaps whoever lives there might be hospitable?"

"And if not, or they are apart of the Nazis command…" Wicki nodded in agreement, and the two began moving up towards the house, cautiously. Once they reached ten feet, the two men could see a bit more detail to the house. It had a small porch in the front, and it was made completely out of wood. Wicki started to move towards the front entrance, but Hugo stopped him and quickly hid behind some trees.

"What are you-"

"Shh, look." Wicki once again looked to where he was pointing. The door was opening and out came…a man in a German uniform. He was whistling. Not giving a care about the world. Wicki pressed his gun closer and had it ready for firing. Hugo laid a hand on it has the Nazis turned around, his face fully in view. Then Wicki understood perfectly and one word filled the soldiers' minds.

_Archibald_…

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A/N: Well, this was a bit of a "meh" chapter (at least to me it was) BUT the reunion is coming up! Also, after the reunion a bit of Aldo/OC is underway so...please review? Those keep me going. Thank you ^-^!


	9. Chapter 9

"You see this Del? This is a baseball." Donny squatted down almost to Delma's height, holding a rather old and dirty baseball in front of her face. Delma's eyes lit up.

"Ball!" Donowitz grinned in response.

"Ya, ball! Baseball. Now, what we gonna do now is play catch. You know how to catch a ball right?" He threw the ball up in the air and caught it as it came back down. Delma clapped her hands and giggled.

"Catch, yay Uncle Dondon!" Donny laughed with her and ruffled her hair. Omar was sitting at the base of a tree and rolled his eyes.

"Be careful Delma, Dondon's not as gentle as you think!"

"Hey shut yer trap Auntie, at least I _know_ what I'm doing here." The Bear Jew stood back up and took a few steps away from Delma. He placed one leg behind the other and held the ball at a low angle.

"Ready Delma? I'm gonna throw, and you hafta catch this!" He tossed the ball as gently as he could for her…that resulted in it landing halfway between them. Omar let out a snort.

"The great Bear Jew…I'm _so _glad no Krauts are around." Donny looked like he was about to smash the Private's head open. He walked over to get the ball and muttered something about "being gentle" and "smashing". Delma just stood still watching and confused. The sergeant turned around in his same spot once again.

"Alright, we're gonna try this once more, kay Delma?" She smiled, nodded her head in response, and stuck her hands out. Donny then brought his stance to a pitching pose, his throwing arm just a little more angled than usual. He breathed in, and threw the ball upwards. It _was _a more powerful throw…too powerful. The ball shot up in the air about 30 feet, and started to come down at Delma. The young girl's eyes widened, the once outsretched arms covered her face in fear and she quickly moved out of the way. The baseball landed on the ground with a thud. Omar started laughing.

"Come here, Delma. Let Aunt Mar take care of ya. Was Dondon too scary?" The Bear Jew hung his head in shame and put a hand to his face.

"Maybe swinging lessons would be better…"

--

--

Wicki and Hugo walked in silence. When they heard laughter 15 yards away, they knew they were close to camp.

"What should we do-"

"We should _do_ nothing." Hugo said to his comrade for about the 50th time. It was rare to see Wilhelm so skittish, but that German was "attached" to Delma. Hugo was not.

"We will only tell him there is a house a mile a way from here. He can figure the rest out."

"What about Louie? He's a _Nazis_. He could have easily killed her sister by now." A silence broke out once again.

"We just tell him what we know. _Without _the uniform." Wicki's eyes glanced over to Hugo's, and he nodded lightly. They were a bit more than 5 yards away. Raine's attention was placed on them after talking with Utivich and Herschberg. The Lieutenant stood up and walked over to the two Germans.

"Well men, got anythin'?" Hugo nodded.

"There is a house right outside the town. Shouldn't be more than a mile away."

"That's it?" Raines' eyes moved to Wick, who nodded in response.

"Then that's it…we'll check out that house. Hopefully, it'll be a nice restin' place-" His sentence was cut off by shouts. He turned his head and saw Omar crouching over with Donny trying to help him and Delma off to the side, not knowing what to do.

"Dagnabit…" He muttered under his breath and briskly walked over to the group. "What the heck is goin' over here now?"

"I was just teachin' Del how ta swing! She's gotta great arm for a tyke sir."

"Don't _give_ that kinda bullshit you sonofa-"

"_PRIVATE_, _what_ did I say about the words?" While all of this shouting and arguing was going on, Delma stood still in shock. She had no idea what she did, and didn't like the sound of Omar screaming. Thus, Delma did the only thing she could do to make the confusion go away. Cry. Everyone stopped and Raine got down on a knee.

"Hey…hey Delma what's wrong? You can tell Papa…" The 6 year old rubbed her eyes and tried to speak in between sobs.

"I….I hurt…Auntie…" She then put an arm to her face and started rubbing it. Tears were rolling fast down her face. Now it was time for everyone else to stand still in shock. Omar took a sharp breath in.

"I'm not hurt Delma…you see…" He stood up (still in a bit of pain from his hip) and smiled through clenched teeth, "...I'm perfectly fine." He gave a small chuckle. The German girl still wasn't convinced. Aldo looked at the young private and shook his head. He picked up Delma by her waist and held her.

"Omar's fine, Delma. It'll be okay. You hurt him by _accident_." Delma looked at him.

"But…Papa…Autie and Uncles hurt…pe-ople…" The Lieutenant's eyes widen. Looks like the young girl _was _smarter than the average German.

"Yes uh…but we hurt _people _by…uh…_accident_, too…" Omar and Donny looked at their boss in shock for telling a lie such as that.

"A…axident?"

"Accident. We don't mean to hurt people, but sometimes it just happens." Delma's sobs turned into sniffs and hiccups as she began to calm down.

"That's a girl…why don't start moving? There'll be a nice house for you. I bet'cha wanna sleep in a bed instead o' the ground for once, huh?" Delma buried her head in his neck and nodded. Raine motioned with his head at Omar and Donny to come with him. The Basterds gathered together and the Lieutenant raised his voice a bit.

"Alright men. Thanks to Wicki and Hugo, there's a house not too far from here. If we work quickly enough, we can git there before sundown. Now let's move out!" The group scattered and began to gather up their stuff. The Lieutenant turned his head to the two German men.

"Boys, show us the way." They nodded, turned around and began to walk. Wicki couldn't hope for a longer walk…ever.

--

--

Louie came downstairs and began the search for a cigar. After changing out of his "business" uniform, all the answers he got were the same. Two men with strange military uniforms came in, asked around about the Ostheim family. Both were German with one knowing a bit of French (according to the barman at _Le Toile_ told him). It puzzled him. Sure, the young Nazis had quite a bit of information…but what if they were Basterds? He had no idea what the group looked like, and yet no one was scrambling around for help to escape their awful, brutal grasp. His hands finally wrapped around a thick cigar and he pulled it out from the drawer. Louie then reached in his pockets for a light…but couldn't find it. He let Emma go into town for the next few days, and it suddenly felt like he was living on an edge. The worst part was it's only been _half a day_. He groaned and began searching the cabinets.

_Knock knock knock…_

Louie stopped in mid movement and stared at the door. All of the curtains were closed, so he head no idea of knowing who was out there.

"Entschuldigen Sie mich, ist jedermann hier? Wir möchten Schutz in Ihrem Haus für heute Abend nehmen." (Excuse me, is anyone here? We would like to take refuge in your house for tonight.)

Louie stayed silent, not wanting to say anything but still curious.

"Herschberg, Utivich, check 'round in the back. Stiglitz, try again." An…_American_ voice with a thick accent came through the door. Louie's mind started ticking. American…probably American_s_…with a German man? Could it be? There was only one way to find out.

"Entschuldigen Sie mich-" (Excuse me-)

"Ja. Ich bin hier." (Yes. I am here.) Silence filled the space between the inside and outside world. Archibald slowly moved towards the door and opened it. A group of eight men…possibly a bit more, surrounded his porch. The man standing right in front of him had a somewhat light military outfit on. He was big, and had blue eyes, brown hair and a mustach. Rope burns were clearly visible around his neck. _The Apache…._he (as a Nazis) couldn't be happier to see him. He inspected the group behind the Lieutenant. The notorious Stiglitz was there, as well as the Little Man, the Bear Jew and…

"Speak English?" Louie's face went stone cold at what he saw. His stomach sank.

"_Ye_s."

"Can we come in?"

"Of _co_urse." As the men came in the door one by one…he saw the thing that began to haunt his conscience.

"Hi! The name's Omar Ulmer. Hope you don't mind having a little girl in the house! I'll make sure she behaves." The girl and Nazis locked eyes. All seemed to move slowly. Then the girl smiled, her face lighting up.

"HI!" Louie almost gave a sigh of relief. Unnoticeable. As Ulmer and child moved fully into the house, everything in his body felt to malfunction. Yet Louie Archibald couldn't tell whether heaven or hell was sent to him…as Delma Ostheim came back from the dead.

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A/N: Okay, reunion is coming up _soon_ I promise! Everything's finally coming into place (at least for now it is). Hope you enjoy the "end of February" update, specially since spring break is coming up (and we all know how hectic that can be!) All I ask? Please review! Thanks everyone!


	10. Chapter 10

Louie's eyes skimmed the room, trying not to appear skittish. The Bear Jew, Ulmer, and the Little Man were sitting in chairs. Ulmer and the Little Man were talking, with Ulmer keeping an eye on the girl Jew who was playing catch with the Bear (he couldn't get himself to say her real name). Stiglitz was off in another room, sharpening a knife. Louie didn't dare go into that room. Hirschberg was lying back on the staircase, slowly falling asleep, and Wilhelm was near the Apache, also talking. The Lieutenant looked over at Louie, back to Wilhelm, then turned around and walked to him. Louie could feel small drops forming on his head.

"You got any spirits available? A man needs a cold hard drink every now and then." The man looked directly into the Nazis' eyes…not blinking. Archibald hid a gulp and nodded, then went back to the counter.

"You speak English?" The young man tried not to flinch.

"Some."

"Good. Maybe you can help us answerin' a few questions…" The American paused when the glasses were filled up. As he took one, he leaned in closer to the German and smirked, "…_Louie_." Louie's eyes snapped up, putting his hands firmly on the counter to stop shaking. He couldn't say a word now…

"Now…" Aldo took a swish, making a small face, "Wooee, that's good. Anyhow…I know you know that lil' gal over there-" He pointed a finger over to Delma who was currently trying to learn a clapping game from Omar, "-so the only question remains…where's her sister?" Archibald pursed his lips and shrugged.

"I do not know...is she dead?" He feigned surprise., causing the big man to snort.

"Don't give me any o' that bullshit. She's gotta be alive somehow…locals said you two hung round a bunch back in Clichy…" He paused, waiting for a response. The American got nothing… "If you insist…but remember, we're Bastards. We find out things 'ventually." Aldo drained his glass, set it hard on the table, and went back to his men...leaving Louie even more frantic. If he didn't find out of this soon…he was screwed. Literally.

--

--

Emma sat back in the wooden chair of the small hotel's dining room. It was a simple place, which suited her taste for a few days' time. She finally had a chance to get away from it…from everything. The young adult looked at her meal and gave a small sigh. True, it was a very excellent _pot-a-feu_, but with being who she is, the longing for kosher styled dishes made her miss the old days too much. Emma took the final sip of wine and set everything up as if she was going to clean the table. The waitress took notice of this, and went to her smiling.

"Êtes-vous terminé, Madmoiselle?" (Are you finished, Madmoiselle?) She turned her chocalate brown eyes to the young girl's green eyes and nodded.

"Très bon. Aimez-vous payer maintenant ou le mettre sur votre onglet?" (Very good. Would you like to pay now or put it on your tab?) Upon recognizing the words "pay" and "tab", the German opened up her black purse and scrounged around for money…which she didn't find.

"Er…onglet, s'il vous plait." (Tab, please) The waitress nodded, gathered up the plates and left. Emma could feel a small blush forming. She just _hated_ money to gather up like that, but because she was out what else could she do? The girl got up and smoothed her plain blue dress out. She knew what she had to do, but didn't like it. Emma would have to go back to the house and ask Louie for a bit more money…even though it wasn't even time yet.

--

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**A/N: Short chapter, I know...but I just can't get a good transaction. I promise...the next chapter is the actual reunion! I'll try to make it as informative as possible but in the meantime, what do you think is going to happen/want to happen? I always like hearing what the readers think so...review please!! **


	11. Chapter 11

The atmosphere finally began to relax even more as the sun sank into the Eastern Hemeshpere. Omar held Delma up to the window, showing her the beautiful scene.

"Mar, where did Meister Sun go?" The child asked.

"He goes to America, Delma. You see the pretty colors? All of the red, purple, yellow, and orange…he's giving us something to remember us by." Delma gazed out of the window. Then…as she turned her head back to the Aunt…her eyes were filled with curiosity.

"Aunt Mar…who's America?" His eyes went wide…and for a moment…everything came back. He saw his friends from childhood, school, the synagoug…his family from his own aunts and uncles to his own parents and girlfriends…

"Auntie?" Omar snapped out of the past and back into reality, he looked back into her eyes and gave a sad smile.

"It's a country paved with gold. Almost like El Dorado, but a little less glorious." He could feel tears reaching to meet the outside of his eyes. He sniffed, then gave a small cough to cover it up.

"Here…why don't you try to find Papa or Uncle Dondon?" At that moment, Donny came up behind him with wooden object in his hands.

"You called Auntie?" Omar took a look at Donny's hands and smiled.

"Who got you that driedel?" Delma's eyes lit up at the word. Donny gave a smile and shook his head.

"You wouldn't even believe me if I told ya…come to Uncle Dondon ya little pipsqueak." As they passed the child, Omar headed to the counter to get something to drink. He could hear Donowitz and Utivitch laughing and singing along as Delma tried to get the dreidel spin. His eyes moved towards Louie who was pouring a drink.

"Mind if I have some?" Louie's eyes snapped up upon hearing his voice. Ulmer was slightly taken aback.

"Whoa, calm down there! I'm not interrogating you or anything like that. Just asking for a drink!" The German officer set the alcohol and glass on the counter with a loud enough bang to cause stares from the rest of the group.

"Are you okay?" Omar couldn't help but to give him _one_ question. Louie's face turned a little red.

"Fine. I'm _fine_. Don't worry about me." He left the area and headed upstairs, his eyes making sure not to catch any of the other Basterds. Once they heard him reach the top, activity started back up again. Omar pulled the glass towards him and filled it up to the brim. He took a few long swallows before getting back to the group.

"Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made it out of clay…okay well in this case wood-"

"Utivitch, she's a kid. She doesn't give a-"

"_Words_ Bear. Words. And when it's bright and ready with dreidel I shall play." The men watched Delma as she tried over and over again to get the toy to spin. Raine came in from the back, lifted the dreidel at an angle and spun. To the group's surprise, it stayed up longer than three seconds, causing Delma to giggle and clap her hands

"I don't like that Louie guy. I think he's hiding something." For the moment, everyone's attention turned to Omar before the dreidel fell over. Delma picked it up and crawled over to the Lieutenant, tugging on his left pant leg.

"Papa!" Aldo didn't pay attention.

"Well of _course _it's fine _not_ to trust him." So the man paid a little attention to Delma. In all honesty, he wanted to reply "No shit, Sherlock."

"_Papa!"_

"Not _now_ Delma I'm…" It was to late. He looked down, and Raine slowly began to realize why one doesn't look at kinds who used "that" tone of voice. The girl held up the dreidel towards him and her face was ever so innocent. He gave a frustrated sigh and bent back down on one knee.

"You have every right to be suspicious Ulmer. Now if you all will excuse me…" The soldier began heading up the stairs.

"Utivitch…" The Lieutenant's voice became a warning.

"We are still on a mission…are we not sir?" The room went quiet again as the German Jew went up the stairs. The small clicks and thumps of the wooden dreidel seemed to echo throughout the room.

"Dreidel dreidel dreidel…I made out of-of clay…" the rest of the group sat contemplating the older man's words. Wicki's eyes were on Delma…slowly hoping that everything will still be smooth sailing.

* * *

**A/N: OMG YOU GUUUYS! I'm so so so so so SO sorry for the looong update. Good news? Re-union is in the next chapter! Even better news? I plan to update it around Christmas or New Year's Eve! Once again, thank ya'll SO much for still reading this. (Also…for those of you who take interest in Storm Hawks, that story of mine could use a little loving) Other than that, happy holidays and review please!**


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